Harbour City Ramblings

When I initially started hitting the streets to train for my very first TC 10k I went out and bought an armband for my iPhone, and proceeded to put together a playlist of songs I figured would get me pumped.

I sifted through all 3900 songs in my iTunes collection and managed to muster up 30 tracks of what I surmised to be my definitive running soundtrack.

Since I am not the world’s largest fan of hip-hop, rap or dance, I opted to leave such genres out. Plus, they really only make up around 8% of my iTunes ensemble. Instead I piled on my favourites- Propagandhi, Metallica, NOFX and Pennywise, to name a few.

My first attempt at a run was short, and as I quickly discovered so was my level of tolerance for that crappy, demotivating playlist of punk and metal.

What I discovered was horrifying…

I am motivated to run by rap music.

I never thought I would admit that. But I scrapped everything except the 1 song that got me running faster, harder, and for a far greater distance than I expected: Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind” Sure I kept a large amount of other genres, but otherwise I did a complete overhaul to accommodate my previously unknown proclivity to hear bass pumping through my earphones.

My new playlist has grown on me. I am now 8 runs into my training, and with yesterday’s haul of just under 5 km I am working my way slowly up to 10k without the help of any guitar solos.

Here are the songs that- though some tough to digest at first- keep me pushing toward my goal of completing the TC 10k:

• Saul Williams (cover of U2’s) “Sunday Bloody Sunday”
• Jay-Z “Run This Town”
• Beastie Boys “Sabotage”
• Queens of the Stone Age “No One Knows”
• Iron Maiden “the Trooper”
• Eminem “White America”
• Kanye West “Stronger”
• Lamb of God “Again We Rise”
• Incubus “Vitamin”
• Westside Connection “Bow Down”
• Rise Against “Behind Close Doors”
• Children of Bodom “Needled 24/7″
• Daft Punk “Da Funk”
• Ol’ Dirty Bastard “Shimmy Shimmy Ya”

And the 3 that never fail to make me literally go that extra mile:

• Green Day “Jesus of Suburbia”
• the Offspring “All I Want”
• Eminem “Till I Collapse”

Those are what do it for me, as much as I previously denied it.

It all boils down to matching a song’s rhythm to your pace, and hearing the right song at the right point of your run.

A few times this week I have been about ready to quite and give my legs a half minute of walking- until one of my key 3 songs came on and I couldn’t help but push on. What songs, bands, or specific genres keep you motivated and moving?

Across the pond, along with all the Winter Olympic hype, the hubbub over unseasonably warm weather postponing events, canceling spectatorship, and refunding tickets is really putting a damper on things… for those in Vancouver.

Meanwhile here in Victoria, we are fortunate to share the same record breaking temperatures, but have the ability to fully enjoy it without sitting under the watchful, critical eye of the rest of the world. Who are still writing about Vancouver’s weather woes constantly.

I personally am benefitting from our balmy spring-like conditions, since this year I have taken up a new physical activity, by which I can enjoy the sunshine and all the fresh air my lungs can handle.

I decided last fall that I would partake in my first Times Colonist 10K Race. I wanted to run 10km in the year 2010. It’s a new venture for me, as in the last few years my workouts have only really consisted of yoga, and a particular video game…

Using Wii Fit to… gain weight? Yep.

In the last couple of years have I incorporated a regular fitness routine into my daily schedule. It takes place in my living room, using my TV. And if I really want, I can do it in my pyjamas. Though it isn’t extreme exercise, Wii Fit has enabled me to correct my previously poor posture, evaluate my gait, and gain muscle mass on my slender limbs.

Because of my through-the-roof metabolism I have always struggled to maintain a healthy weight, and gaining it was damn near impossible.

Nintendo’s Wii Fit has helped me to simply tone-up and reach a healthy BMI.

I may be one of the few individuals on the planet who can say they have successfully gained weight with Wii Fit.

With two years of performing push-up side planks, lunges, and various yoga poses in the comfort of my living room, I was ready to take my newly fit self to the streets.

Last Tuesday after starting with a custom-made Wii Fit routine to stretch, I strapped on my Saucony running shoes- which I acquired from my mom late last year when I decided I would run the TC10K- and I headed outdoors.

Tracking my 10K Training Progress

Within the last week and a half I have ran every other day. Using Run Keeper to track my progress, I have successfully covered 17.7 km of ground at a (slow, but progressing) average speed of 8.5 km/hour.

I have managed to cut a minute off of my average pace while bumping up my distance over these first 6 runs. My first run was 2.87 km. Today I completed exactly 4 km. I have set a schedule and plan to increase my distance and pace up until the big day- April 25th, 2010.

Co-workers and loved ones are supremely supportive and have been sharing their own personal running tips, which I have compiled here:

• Maintain good posture; leaning too far forward is tough on the diaphragm. Which brings me to…
• Find a breathing rhythm, and breath deeply; I have learned from past yoga instructors to breath deep into the diaphragm, to picture the oxygen reaching and energizing every part of your body.
• When running down hill ensure your feet stay beneath your body, don’t extend them too far forward, and again… keep your posture upright.
• Relax your arms and hands; keep them lose and hip-level, clenching your fists expends more energy.
• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate- both well before and far after.

With just under 70 days to go, my only hope is to continue enjoying this new found venture, quicken my pace, build-up my stamina, and make it past the finish line around the 60-minute mark.

Now here’s hoping this brilliant weather keeps up until April.

As ABC’s Lost enters into it’s final season, it’s time that I plan a trip to visit the very sites which make-up the backdrop that brilliantly compliments the best storytelling on television.

With 6 seasons soon to make-up the entirety of the Lost story-arc, filming locations are spread across most every corner of the Hawaiian island of Oahu.

Knowing this, I have been doing my fair share of research into pre-packaged tours which claim to satisfy even the most die hard Lost fan. My only worry is whether some of the man-made props will still be available for viewing this fall, when the cold weather hits and I finally decide to hop from my own humble island, to that which the Oceanic 815 and Ajira 316 survivors made camp.

Companies offering Lost Tours include:

• Lost Virtual Tours
• Hawaiian Escapades
• KOS Hummer Tours
• Big Kahuna Hawaii

While the Lost tour may take precedence over all other activities on my personal Oahu To-Do list, it clearly isn’t the only reason to visit Hawaii’s most inhabited and third largest island.

I have managed to come up with some activities and worth-while sights that don’t necessarily include the Other’s compound, Hurley’s golf course, the Pala Ferry dock, or the spot where Desmond confronted and killed his Swan Hatch roommate Kelvin.

Oahu Hiking Trails

With a plethora of trails available for the avid hiker, I plan to take-in my fair share of mountain trekking. I’m not the least bit keen on shopping, nor can I sit still long enough to beach-dwell, thus exploring the jungles of Oahu is right up my alley.

Some trails I intend to conquer:

Manoa Falls –  Located in the Honolulu Watershed Forest Reserve, the trail to the falls boasts foot bridges and lush bamboo forests. Manoa Falls is considered an easy trail with a rewarding finish.

Ka’ena Point – Located on the most north west point of Oahu, in Ka’ena Point State Natural Area Reserve. The Ka’ena Point trail runs entirely along the shore with little elevation, but spectacular sand dunes, native birds, and even views of breaching whales off-shore in the winter months.

Makapu’u Point Trail – Located on the south eastern tip of the island, in Ka Iwi State Park. Makapu’u Point Trail provides a steep slope with panoramic views of southern Oahu and surrounding islands, a Lighthouse, and an Aquarium.

These a mere few outdoor activities I intend to partake in once I make my way to Oahu. I gather my list will grow as the fall approaches or I officially book my flight, so if anyone has any suggestions on what to do in Oahu- I am more than open to recommendations.

Every year around this time the writer within me goes into hibernation. Few outdoor activities worth sharing, lack of travels to document in order to reminisce afterwards, overlapped by the hectic holiday season produce one boring blog with little new content in far too long.

For the past while anyone who happened to stumble upon my place in cyberspace, used to share vacation experiences and hometown hum-drums have been faced once again with crickets. But as an excuse for the silence- here is an example of how I have been able to keep busy, and creative, over the holidays…

A Snapshot of the Future

Though I may be one of the few individuals on the planet who has not read ‘the Secret‘ by Rhonda Byrne, I have always bought into the power of a positive mental attitude, with the notion that what energy you put out into the universe, is returned to you.

Future travel aspirations.

These are the mere two things I have in common with a book I have not read.

This past November I received an invitation from my former co-worker, Lynnell, to attend what she deemed to be a trial run at a ‘Vision Board’ evening. Taking the age old idea of making visuals of ones dreams, only made more popular by ‘the Secret,’ and committing to making them happen appealed to me. So I enlisted my mother and we RSVP’ed.

With cash and/or donation to the Mustard Seed food bank, a few old magazines, and future hopes and goals crammed into one’s cranial space, an evening of creativity took place at the Victoria Executive Centre that Thursday, Nov. 19th.

Prior to letting our creative juices flow, mom and I enjoyed an authentic Italian meal at the ever-enjoyable Pizzeria Prima Strada, in the heart of Cook Street Village.

Cut, Paste, Visualize, Repeat…

By the time 6:00pm rolled around, we were ready to make our way to the venue just a few doors from the Blue Fox on Fort St. With the wine and catered spread of local snacks and baked goods to fuel our small group, we embarked on our first ever attempts to design tangible, visual affirmations of what we want in our lives.

Around 3 hours later, after sifting through the heaps of magazines and cutting out anything that stood out, each of us ended up with a unique stack of quotes and photos. From there we had some time to assemble our words and images onto our poster board.

The finished product.

The outcome was huge insight into how varying each person’s wants and desires are, and how different our values can be. Some boards shared similar themes, but not one was alike in style or content. With positive feedback, and the ability to work out a reliable system based on the success of the first Vision Board event, Lynnell is holding a second one at the end of this month. For those who believe that starting a fresh calendar year means another shot at getting through a list of newly set resolutions, this is a fun way to hold yourself accountable to make that happen. I really enjoyed the event and know Lynnell will have plenty of continued success with Vision Board workshops in the future.

Early last month I had the pleasure of celebrating two weddings on back-to-back weekends.

My journey brought me from a concert in Vancouver, to a family wedding on the Sunshine Coast of BC, then a few provinces east- to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

When I last spent time in Saskatoon my nephew-by-default, Emmett, was one week new in the world. I spent some time getting to know him while staying with my best friend Trista and her partner Justin. This time around, coming on two years of age, he had grown ten-fold both in size and personality.

Late last year is when I received news that I would be returning to that lovely, flat, wheat-abundant province. Trista called with the tremendous news that she & Justin were getting married. And I was thrilled to accept the responsibility of Maid of Honour.

Since our days of misguided youth spent wandering the aisles of our local Campbell River video store, or skipping school to whale-watch from the shore- we had been inseparable. Our families moved in next door to one another on the very same mid-September day, and we officially met in our Grade 7 class at Rockland Elementary School. Throughout our dozen year history we have lived together on several occasions, snuck out together more times than one can count on multiple hands, spent more days together than apart, and caused our parents a lifetime worth of grief.

Pre-Wedding Preparations

Due to the family wedding the weekend prior, I was only able to spend the week leading up to Trista and Justin’s big day there in Saskatoon assisting with last minute prep, and the standard pre-wedding events.

On my first full day in the city came the Wedding Shower, and the day following included an impressive west-coast inspired dinner at the Ivy Lounge, then dancing and debauchery at Jax’s Nite Club for the Bachelorette party.

On the Thursday the bridesmaids, Trista and I took some time to relax at Sunday Morning Organic Day Spa, where we were pampered in the least toxic and most eco-friendly fashion.

Friday night, after the preparations had come together and the week to a close, Trista’s mother and partner Gord threw one last pre-wedding-hurrah: the Rehearsal Dinner.

The Ceremony

The weather through the week was nothing short of dreary and damp. Upon waking up on Saturday, August 8th, we were all relieved to see dry skies.

Trista and I headed out of the house around 8am, stopped for coffee and made our way to MAC to have our make-up applied. We then met up with the mothers and bridesmaids- including Trista’s sister Candyce, Justin’s sister Kelsey, and Trista’s brother’s partner Heather- for our fantastic up-do’s.

With one hour remaining, and anxiousness setting in, all nerves were momentarily calmed when assisting the bride into her dress.

Having been a couple provinces away for most essential wedding preparations, this was the first time I had seen the bride’s dress. To be honest, there are positively no lack of clichés available to delineate just how beautiful Trista looked in that dress. It complimented her perfectly, she was the very definition of radiant.

The ceremony played out brilliantly. With the enchanting landscape of the Saskatoon Forestry Farm accommodating the crowd of friends and family, there on that Saturday afternoon we joined Trista and Justin in their natural and official coalescence.

The Reception

After the wedding party photo shoot we made our way to the reception hall for the grand celebration.

With most Maid of Honour duties behind me, there was but one left to fulfill… The most nerve-wracking, stomach-churning responsibility of them all- my speech. I certainly stumbled my way through it, but luckily it was soon to be forgotten as the dinner plates were cleared and we all sat in admiration of the new Mr. and Mrs. Stabler.

For the remainder of the evening, the dance-floor had not once been shy of full capacity. With the two dorky DJ’s providing the tunes, and the organic beer and wine flowing, it was certainly the perfect celebration.

Regretfully after the weekend was through, I had to leave my darling nephew Emmett, and Trista and Justin, to make my way back home to BC. After easily one of the best weeks of recent memory, I am so happy to have been a part of the festivities. And though it’s disheartening to live so far from Trista and her new family, the sadness is trumped by the fact that I know she is content, she is safe, she is comfortable and home. That she has truly evolved from the adolescent individual I grew up with, to one refined and impressive woman. I am privileged to know her, and to have been a part of her wedding day.

It’s happening again.

This time every year- and I do assure you it happens consistently once a year, for weeks on end- when the weather returns from dreary downfalls in spring and leads us into the depths of what we are hopeful will remain a summer full of sun-filled days, the crows a’cometh.

I hate them.

I don’t hate much in this world. Because it is in fact true as far as falling under the category of “what mother always said” goes. Hate is too strong a word to use sparingly.

I hate crows. More specifically, I hate how crows insist on waking me up before 5:00 am daily with their aggravating cawing. And how their already rude behaviour turns even more vile with swooping and stalking tendencies as the summer progresses. Luckily I have recently returned home from two weeks away from their incessantly irritating disruptions. For it seems the entire city of Powell River does not have as many crows as the lone tree sitting out front my bedroom window, thankfully.

Mike & Justine’s Wedding

The day after the Blink 182 concert in Vancouver I took the ferry back to Horseshoe Bay. Mom and brother Matthew picked me up in Nanaimo and we commenced the journey up-island and over the ocean again for wedding 1 of 2 that week.

Mike & Justine’s ceremony and reception took place on the grounds of Aunt Claudette & Uncle Stan’s property in rural Powell River, a mere couple of blocks from the water’s edge. The serene surroundings quelled the chaotic going-ons throughout the few days leading up to the ceremony on Saturday, August 1st, if only slightly.

From Wednesday to Friday evening myself, mom, the aunts and various other helpers of either side of the families scurried about the property grounds like worker ants about a colony. I managed to walk away with variable wedding war-wounds while assisting with the garden and food preparations. Deadheading plants was a term I familiarized myself with rather quickly, in between helping out in the kitchen with peeling 60 lbs. of potatoes, opening 50 cans of beans, chopping an assortment of vegetables and cooking a multitude of pasta with my aunts.

In these few days, I learned that anyone considering catering to a wedding of such a capacity, should not overlook the option of eloping.

Come Saturday morning all the preparations were complete, and the grounds beautifully set-up to host the nearly-150 person crowd for the big day.

The pool-side ceremony was harmonious and the reception an absolutely blast. I was fortunate to have joined in the celebrations with Mike and Justine, and spend plenty more time with dad’s amazing and supportive side of the family. The following day the family and I packed our two vehicles, hopped back to Vancouver Island on the morning ferry, and I sadly increased my carbon footprint a little further by driving down to Nanaimo in order to catch a flight to Saskatoon, SK for wedding 2 of 2- my best friend’s wedding.